Strength of the Sword ULTIMATE

If you ignore the $1000 of DLC, this is a super solid game for criminally cheap. It's short, but also has a Survival mode, Co-Op, and even PvP, though considering how I was literally the only one playing it as of today, it's a pipe dream at best. At the moment, it's only $1, so honestly even if you're not sure if you'll like it, there's no harm in buying it.

A short and fun time that is worth experiencing, in return for ignoring its uninspiring flaws.
Full review - https://retrospect-reviews.com/reviews/strength-of-the-sword-ultimate

REALLY do not like the $1,000 dlc "joke" for this game. Almost gave it a thumbs down for that alone, but for $1 for a little over an hour of content, it's a pretty neat concept

feels like this could be a cool game, the base mechanics & ideas are neat - but the keyboard control mapping is utter dogbollocks for me and not changeable ingame, so it won't even let me into the door...

K/L for confirm/deny, what were you even thinking?

But for 80 cents I can't bear to give this the thumbs down lol.
If you like your "character action"- or fighting games, and own a controller, maybe give this a try.

Decent game. Randomly found it and it is not all that bad besides some cons. Like PvP for example. I can never get into a match with anyone and it really sucks because the combat is pretty fun. Some weapons and armor though feel really useless and not worth buying. Weapons do have some of their own special attacks but for me at least, I can never pull them off successfully, making almost all weapons feel the same, as the basic attacks for said weapons are all the same. Overall not a terrible game, but can very well be improved on, but sadly I doubt it will. But for the price I think it is good to give it a shot.

Truly a great experience. If you like a "soulslike" combat system and just want to jump into fights, this is perfect. Just enough enemy variety to keep you engaged through it's little campaign. Just enough build options to let you customize to your style. And a simple art style that makes the game really shine. I quite enjoyed this, and for a dollar, you really can't go wrong here!

I love the fighting mechanics but please update this game and add more gear and fix some bugs but overall good game

The sound design could be a little better, all the levels are just arenas with waves of enemies, and the campaign is kinda short, but it's definitely the most fun and complete experience on Steam for only a dollar.

Fun little game :D
love the combo's although struggled a bit to remember them... which also makes it more fun i guess since it's more challenging without them i assume.

Loved the character customization part, rembinded me a bit of Medabots... collect parts to build a specialized mech!
Yeah, didn't dissapoint! Especially not for the price they asked

this game looks very good with great visuals, have a lot of potential but unfortunately have some technical issues and bugs combined with weird and uncomfortable controls
buy it for supporting dev

It's really cool! It's one of those games I wish I've kickstarted!
It's true that the only-arena style of game ends being a bit repetitive to me, and that the combat is really deep, more than I can handle. But that might be because I'm not such a hardcore hack'n'slash player.

And even despite of that, I really liked the game! The aesthetics and the mood is just amazing. The only thing I wish they could make someday is to make available the DLCs they had for backers. It's been quite a few years since then, and that could attract new players to give more life to the multiplayer (a bit dead by now).

So if you like a really technique combat and hordes of enemies with a cool mech vs demons artsyle (and humor), this is for you! :D

This game has so much potential. Despite the cheap price and short gameplay, the game itself has a good combat and skill system .

Very cool game. Everything You need to know about this game is in the trailers.

The only minus is that game is very short 40-60 min of gameplay. But it costs 1$ so f#ck yeah its worth it!

The game is mondo jank, it comes complete with stagger not always working and enemy attacks without any tells, as well as a bonus feature; no button remapping. I think it's still worth playing for the dollar it costs, it's a unique bad experience like The Room.

This game is amazing, the gameplay is great, the art-style is awsome and the boss design is really creative. I also loved the Warhammer 40k references. I would recommend this to anyone.

What is Strength of the Sword ?

This game is one of those hidden gems you find on steam after you spent a good ammount of time searching on the catalog for something interesting that isnt another garbage shovelware that plagues this freaking platform, even tho this game shows a lot of unrealized potential, I spent less than a dollar on it and it provided me a few hours of fun while theres so much forgettable or utter crap games you there asking for more, plus gameplay-wise this game was kinda unique, Its kinda sad that this game couldnt realize its potential, here you play as a robot that you can customize its parts and weapons making you able to create your builds or fighting style, each weapon has its own moves, the combat is really fun and well-done I wish somene could recreate this combat system and reuse it in a bigger game, here you have 3 modes to play, the game's main campaign consists of you going on 4 stages, each stage has like 2 arenas where you fight enemies and then it ends with a boss fight, its fun, the bosses moves are well-telegraphed, everything just clicks and feel right but the campaign is over in a hour and half ¬¬', besides that you can play an arena mode where you survive waves of enemies you can play it by yourslelf or coop with a friend or you can duel with someone online, so yeah it has a pvp system too, if what I said interests you even with a discount the price of this game is just extremely small, go for it, you will find something unique here just know that the game has limited content.

Strength of the Sword brings surprising depth to the table, concealed within a rather unassuming very cheap package. Almost everything about this game is satisfying and charming, from the customization to the combat. There have been so many moments where I've just had my mouth open yelling "THAT'S AWESOME" when trying each new weapon, seeing how they play and being in awe at the fluidity of the combat and what it allows. Truthfully, I do wish this game were longer however, even if that raised the games price point by a bit more as no matter how much I've played through the campaign I've yet to be sated. I truthfully don't know if I've ever played a game which has more value for $1.

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The Good:

- Combat. Combat is obviously the star of this game, and the fluidity and options that come with it are both surprising and quite deep. Each weapon within this game comes with its own unique set of attacks, which allow for a mixed playstyle and also make each weapon feel unique by providing the player with interesting ways to handle certain situations. Decided to use a cumbersome hunk of metal as your weapon? There's an attack which allows you to close incredibly long distances whilst midair so that you don't have to sprint or waddle your way to the enemy. Shields and Ranged weapons are present within this game as well, and add further to your options as a player as each bring various bonuses to the table which further add to the games depth.

Strength of the Sword incentivizes playing how YOU want to, rather than how the game wants you to play, allowing for a mixed approach to every situation if you want. There are all sorts of various bonuses and interesting little mechanics such as shields which actually act as ranged weapons instead, or ranged weapons which break enemy guards or bombard multiple enemies from a distance. You can choose to rely heavily upon guarding attacks if you want, or can choose to not utilize them at all and become a nimble mecha-ninja which flips and dashes around the battlefield with well-timed dodges if you like.

- A surprising amount of weapons. I didn't expect much from the weapon pool within this game, but there's actually quite a bit more than I expected. You've got things from the humble short sword to cannon-blades, or things such as a Guts-esque hunk of metal which can barely be called a sword, and each one has its own unique melee attacks which allow for different approaches to combat.

- The soundtrack. There aren't many songs within this game, but the ones there are feel as though they fit very well into the setting, with each one lending to each battle feeling as if it were a duel.

- Customization. There's a surprising amount of customization within this game, with the game allowing you to customize various aspects of your "Steamknight". You've got options for your Chassis, Shoulders, Arms, Legs, Ranged Weapon, Shield, and Sword, and each bring in individual bonuses which lend to your playstyle and allow you to customize your character to how you see fit.

- Survival Mode. If you're unable to sate your thirst for the combat of this game, it offers you a survival mode which allows for you to press on through a gauntlet of increasingly difficult fights. Very nice touch for such a small game.


The Ok:

- There's not much of a story to speak of, but what little there was with how it is presented did make me laugh a bit due to the cutesy pop-up book stylized presentation.

- Movement whenever not dashing or flying feels incredibly awkward as it's more of a waddle and less of a strafing/walking movement.


The Bad:

- No access to a combo list for previously purchased weapons. If you've purchased a weapon and equipped it but weren't sure how to do the button inputs and then purchased and equipped a different weapon, those button prompts for the previous weapon are lost forever. This isn't particularly an issue whenever you've played the game for a bit, but in the beginning whenever you're learning how the combat flows it's a particularly large issue as it's hard to understand how everything works. There is also no online resource available which talks about this game or each individual weapon.

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Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Worth $1? I don't even know if this is a question that needs to be asked. Yes, the game is definitely worth $1.

Closing Thoughts:
I don't think I've ever played a game which is both as satisfying and disappointing as this game has been, but the disappointment in this game stems from the fact that it is not LONGER for a higher price point. There's a lot going for this game, and I can only hope that this game is just the groundwork for something greater, as it's an incredibly satisfying experience even if it is quite short.

I recommend this game, but only for collectors of oddities, like me!

The studio that developed it has shut down, and no bug fixes, feature additions, or other updates or forthcoming, so be aware of that before going into this.

This is not an openworld game or anything like that. It doesnt say so in the tags but I expected that when going in after watching some short videos on it. Each level is a small arena and you have to defeat 3 waves of enemies or a boss. The waves usually consist of 2-3 enemies. However I still had a blast playing it because the combat iso well designed. And its great that they do not throw many enemies on you at once because the combat isnt designed for that to work.

A fighting system like ive never seen before. It takes some time to get used to but when you kinda understand how to do it it feels so satisfying. Also if you plan on playing with with a keyboard and mouse - dont. Attack is on k. This should say enough. But with a controller its really really great.
The weapons you use mostly make an actual difference. A few swords feel pretty much the same but most of the weapons feels very distinct. I finished the game in about 2 hours. I replayed some levels before the last boss tho to get more money to try more weapons. So I guess one hour to one hour and a half will be the estimated time for most people. I will play it again tho. It has an arena coop mode and a pvp mode. And you can replay the levels for better grades..

There can be some fun here, but beware that there is not much content and the game is buggy.

- Combat is generally fun, though it seems repetitive.
- Combo inputs are read well in advance of the attack animation, so you can get locked into attacks that you might not want. You can block cancel most attacks, but the result left me feeling disconnected.
- I was never able to execute some of the inputs based on the button prompts, and I couldn't find a more detailed explanation in game to help.
- The idea for the armor part-based stat system is neat, but the individual stats are not intuitive. Increasing your weapon speed doesn't appear to make combos go any faster. That appears to be tied to your movement speed.
- Parts are expensive, so it would take a lot of grinding to unlock them all. This forces you into buying a few parts early without sufficient explanation about how this will change the combat. If you don't like your choices, you have to grind up more currency to try something else.

The game crashed after less than an hour of play, and I don't currently feel compelled to play more.

If DMC were far more ground oriented and had a stamina bar for your dodges, it might look something like this.

This game feels great, and really isn't that difficult as long as you're not throwing your face at the enemy with no regard for self-preservation. The current single-player campaign is a bit short, and outside of having an enemy to lock on to, the movement feels a bit off. However, since the crux of this game is all about combat, it's a non-issue as soon as enemies appear which is 99% of the time that you're playing.

Since this is a game centered around arena combat, it also strikes me as an arcade-y For Honor, as well. The weapons feel varied but not too dissimilar that you'll be at a loss if you pick a new weapon, rather than For Honors classes that feel wildly different at times. Some weapons have longer reach, others have AoE specials, ONE OF THEM IS A DRILL WITH A DASHING DRILL ATTACK THAT LOOKS AND FEELS SICK. Given that it feels little more like a For Honor/3D fighting game, it's not going to snap enemies to you to make combos easier like DMC or Bayonetta might do. That way if your opponent had good spacing, you don't get to style on them for getting one hit off. It feels little odd in Singleplayer but I imagine it feels better for the PvP experience. The only gripe I have about the combat is that the weapon attack hit boxes feel off sometimes, like I didn't expect the starting sword to have more range than the drill, and sometimes when attacking after dodging, the enemy is hit even when you're far enough away. I assume I'm just a scrub too, but the blocking enemies are somewhat annoying since I haven't been able to guard break them and instead have to try to dodge behind them and hope they haven't turned slightly enough to keep dodging my attacks. The specials are somewhat weird to pull off, but in practice, I've found that mashing helps and it keeps the enemies hitstunned long enough to keep pummeling them.

Overall, I really like this game, and for $10, you get a pretty engaging 3rd person brawler. I can't say that it'll replace something like DMC for you, as some more polish might be needed here and there, but it's definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the brawler/character action genre, even if it's just to try PvP.

The Summary:
A charming brawler with simple combat and combos with controls that take a bit of getting used to. A very short campaign with levels consisting of 2-3 waves of enemies. A bit difficult at first, but after you get used to the controls, and you pick a loadout that you enjoy, the difficulty drops to a more manageable level. An enjoyable $10 brawler with charm and potential.

The Details:
Been waiting for over 3 years for this game to come out after watching gameplay footage of Strength of the Sword 3 online. This is not representative of the final release, as there are still plenty of visual bugs present, but I was able to complete the entire main campaign without a single crash.
The controls take a bit of work to get used to; the parry system doesn't seem as responsive as I would like it, but evasive rolling feels much more reliable so I used that mainly. Combos are fairly simple to perform, and a wide variety of weapons each add their own additional movelist to your arsenal. Special attacks can be performed by pressing a direction with an attack, but I found that holding the direction doesn't work and instead you need to tap the direction in time with your button press. There is a grab mechanic where you can either "stab" or "release" your enemy, but I don't feel this is very well described. Whenever I grabbed an enemy, sometimes it would deal massive damage or sometimes they could throw me off, it just felt like a coin flip.
The art and presentation is one of the game's strongest points. The character designs and cutscenes oozes a cartoon-ish charm that sets it aside from other indie brawlers. The music on the otherhand isn't anything special, you get your triumphant trumpets blarring fanfare with every victory, but nothing in the soundtrack really stands out.
The levels are short, very short. If I could describe it in terms of the beat 'em up genre, imagine the typical beat 'em up where you fight enemies, walk forward, and fight some more: this game just cuts out the middle man and removes the "walk forward" part. Levels, as they are right now, consist of a few waves of enemies, and a boss fight after every 2-3 levels. Main campaign can be completed in about 2 hours if you get used to the controls and pick the right loadout. The survival mode is where the game shines: simply use the waves of enemies during the main campaign and make them longer, harder, and never-ending.
This game has potential, after a 3 year wait I'm just happy I finally got to play it. Not exactly the deepest combat system, but once I got used to the controls, the combos and evasion felt satisfying (if a little easy at times). A decent $10 brawler that gave me my money's worth of fun.